Speed frame (SF) exchange is a method of exchanging a sequence of uplink and downlink Physical layer Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) in a transmission opportunity (TXOP) between a communications controller and a user equipment (UE). In an SF exchange, a communications controller and a UE exchange a sequence of uplink and downlink PPDUs separated by a short interframe space (SIFS) time. Both uplink and downlink channel accesses are combined in a continuous frame exchange sequence between a pair of devices. UEs participating in the SF exchange use information presented in the frame control field, the physical layer convergence procedure (PLCP) header signal field, and Null Data Packet (NDP) medium access control (MAC) frames to signal an SF exchange. This reduces the number of contention based channel accesses, improves channel efficiency by reducing the number of frame exchanges, and reduces the amount of handshaking. Also, the UE power consumption is reduced by reducing the awake time.